Istvan Fodor is the Lead Pastor at the Reformed Youth Fellowship in Hungary.
When did you trust Christ?
I was raised in a pastor's family. At 14 years old, after confirmation, I had a question about whether I could trust God and His word. But I had a dream that convinced me of His goodwill, and that I can trust His sacrifice for me. It was the "testimonium Spiritus sancti Internum" for me. He gave me this life, so He really wants to give me eternal life through his sacrifice. Only my hesitant faith was the source of distrust and blockage in my life.
What have been the defining moments of your Christian walk?
My godfather was my mentor after my father's death. Losing my father was the first big challenge to my faith. This process ended with a dream and realisation that losing my father was very emotional. But Jesus lives. My assistant years were spent in Gazdagrét, and my mentor impacted my service significantly, deepening the meaning of grace. Also, Sonship Weekend and Sonsip Academy were a great reviving force in my life. Additionally, reading James Dobson's books helped me understand my parents' behaviour and how to become a better leader. Lastly, Tim Keller's book, Prodigal God, helped me understand intimacy with God.
What do you hope to gain from participating?
I have attended the Forum once beforehand. Now, my colleague recommended it to me. I hope to get connected to like-minded Gospel-centered leaders around the world. I am in a new role, so I face many challenging problems that involve co-operation, leadership with my assistants and the whole organisation, which is very different from a church. I hope I'll get some insight into how to work together with my assistants.
What is your ministry?
I am the Lead Pastor at the Reformed Youth Fellowship in Hungary and a vice-pastor of a church in Budapest while my boss is on sabbatical. At the Reformed Youth Fellowship, we are an "inner mission” for the Reformed Church in Hungary. Our main goals are conversion, teaching, community, and worship. We also work on translating the Bible Project and other Christian educational materials into Hungarian.
What is your leadership role or what were your past leadership roles?
I was a pastor for 11 years. I spent three years as an assistant pastor and eight years as a lead pastor.
Why should someone invest in your ministry?
The Reformed Youth Fellowship is a very important service impacting the next generation of the reformed church. In the meantime, our church is not paying enough attention to the young generation, so our service is the baseline for future pastors and Christian leaders. Also, my translation work is impacting a lot of people at home who are "locked up" in their online world. We frame it as a "prison mission" when giving them online Gospel content that is leading them to Jesus.
